Madonna’s brother Anthony Ciccone has accused the pop diva of not caring about him being dead or alive.

The 56-year-old man is a homeless alcoholic, who has lived on the freezing streets of Traverse City, Michigan, for almost three years, the New York Daily news reported.Anthony added that the Madonna lives in her own world and the siblings never loved each other.Anthony spends most of his time drinking alcohol from paper bags, just 12 miles away from the Ciccone family Vineyard, where his father and step-mother live.According to the UK paper, Anthony was recently thrown in jail for a month after an incident in which he was drunk and was swearing at kids in front of a church.Anthony also blamed his family for his miserable state saying that he had no family backup.He said that he would rather be working but is helpless under the circumstances, as his family has stood against him completely.But neighbour Kathy Mateyer, who works in the Ciccone family vineyard’s wine tasting room, said that the pop singer and Anthony’s father were devastated by his failure to get help for his alcoholism, and refused to allow him back until he stopped drinkingMateyer further told that Ciccone would sneak into the cellars and he would lie on the floor, open up one of the big tanks, and drink the wine with a glass and that he would not take help from his family.Meteyer also said that Madonna paid for her brother’s rehab stints “several times.”

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Confessions Tour

In November 2005, during an interview with The Guardian, Madonna confirmed that she was going out on tour in 2006 and it would likely be named either the Confessions Tour or the Confess Your Sins Tour.Jamie King was next hired on as the director of the tour. During an interview with MTV in February 2006, Madonna explained that she wanted to play first at small venues like Roseland Ballroom in New York or the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, then move out to perform at stadiums and arenas. That way she deduced that she would not feel bored during her performances. King clarified,

"A typical Madonna show is quite produced, [...] She likes things large, she likes things theatrical, but this time, being that Confessions on a Dance Floor is an intimate album, we want to try to make people have an intimate experience as well as a big produced theatrical experience. So look for us doing some small venues, some smaller venues. [...] I would like to put her as close to her people — her fans, her dancers, her fellow supporters — as possible,"

King also confirmed that the set list for the tour consisted mainly of songs from the supporting album, with few of Madonna's old hits making the cut. Some of the dancers from the music videos of "Hung Up" and "Sorry", both singles from Confessions on a Dance Floor, were signed to perform on the tour as well. In March 2006, Madonna, along with her then-husband Guy Ritchie and with their kids, moved to Los Angeles, to begin rehearsing for the tour. In the summer of 2006, Madonna's manager Guy Oseary announced that her Australian leg to the tour had been dropped. Her official website released the following statement:

"To my fans in Australia,

Please forgive me. I really did hope and expect to come to Australia during the Confessions Tour and asked my managers to try to include some shows there. I have fond memories from previous tours. Unfortunately, the logistics just didn't work out this time around. We looked into going from Japan to Australia and ending the show there but I have to get my kids back into school in England and they are, as you can understand, my most important priority. The important thing to remember is that I'm not retiring anytime soon and I am gonna get to Australia as soon as I can. You remain in my heart and Thank you for your continued love & support. —Love, Madonna"

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was back on his favorite radio show this week, offering advice Glenn Beck’s program on subjects including on education, business, and pop-star wardrobe choices.When asked about his experience at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Perry said it was more exciting than what Madonna did at the GLAAD media awards show — wearing a Boy Scout costume to protest their refusal to admit gay scouts.

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize news and entertainment media that represent the LGBT community in a fair and accurate light. Speaking at the event on Saturday night, Madonna called on Boy Scouts to lift their ban on gay members. Madonna joked she wanted to join the troops, but was turned down for lack of qualifications.

“I can build a fire. I know how to pitch a tent…I can rescue kittens from trees. Most importantly, I know how to scout for boys,” Madonna said in her speech. “I think they should change their stupid rules.”

Madonna said she wants to start a revolution. She said the bullying and torture of America’s young kids is an atrocity, and makes her want to ‘sit down and cry a river of tears’.Beck said Madonna’s protest was crazy, and Perry agreed.

“It’s fascinating that someone would make that kind of gratuitous shot at an organization that has probably done as much to promote young men to the type of values that the vast majority of the people in this country aspire to,” Perry said.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Madonna's "Secret Project" has turned out to be Steven Klein's "Secret Project," and the first video from it is this rather familiar-looking snippet.

Doesn't it remind you of "iamamiwhoami" from 2010?And haven't we seen high-fashion models with black-painted skin quite a lot?

We'll see if what comes out of this is interesting, or if all the hype and manufactured buzz was required to counteract a collective yawn from art lovers.

In 2003, Klein collaborated with Madonna, creating an exhibition installation named X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS. It included photography from the photoshoot in W Magazine and seven video segments. The installation ran from March 28 to May 3, 2003 in New York gallery, Deitch Projects, it then travelled the world in an edited form.

Klein has recently directed the music video for Madonna's single, "Gang Bang."

From 12/12: "Madonna and long time friend and collaborator Steven Klein did a 2 day shoot in Argentina for an unknown project. The two images below have surfaced from the set and it also involves some her MDNA dancers, stylist Arianne Phillips and art director Giovanni Bianco. Being a two day project and judging by the set above it must be a video shoot and not just a mere photo session with Klein. Some fans are swearing it is the Gang Bang video because she wanted to do a video for that song since the MDNA album came out. Others say it might be Beautiful Killer. The art director came to twitter and said it is not Love Spent. Might be a new song, another art installation with Klein, who knows?"

2. When she shared her feelings about the Boy Scouts:"So I think that I should be allowed to be a boy scout. And I think they should change their stupid rules."3. Her bold hypothetical situations:4. When she addressed those still on the fence about LGBT rights:

5. When she said this:

6. This moment:7.When she fawned over Anderson:8. When she said what everyone was thinking:9. That moment she attempted to resist Anderson's charm:10. And when this happened:

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post will not be allowed to cover the red carpet for Saturday's GLAAD Media Awards in New York honoring Anderson Cooper, and featuring Madonna, because of their history of transgender-bashing.

GLAAD invited Post editors to a meeting to discuss their coverage, which includes frequent references to "trannies" and "she-males." The newspaper brass turned down the meeting and the media watchdog organization, founded in 1985 when the Post was defaming people with HIV, responded by not allowing them to attend their high-profile event."The Post has been digging its feet in the ground for too long on this issue," GLAAD President Herndon Graddic said in a statement. "Transgender people, particularly those who are victims of crime, deserve more than the vile slurs and underhanded 'jokes' with which the Post describes them. Until this paper changes its ways and apologizes for the damage done, GLAAD has no interest in supporting their work."Source

Monday, March 11, 2013

CIARA ON INSPIRATIONS:“I really love listening to artists like Lana Del Ray, Kendrick Lamar, Drake just to name a few. However, I continue to find inspiration from the generation of greats such as Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna”.

Friday, March 8, 2013

This week I came across an item on HuffPost Gay Voices, a petition by Lady Gaga fans against Madonna presenting a GLAAD award to Anderson Cooper, because, as they put it, she was the cause of so many gay men dying of AIDS in the '80s and '90s. I scratched my head a bit and didn't comment on the post, despite the fact that I generally defend anything and all things Madonna-related and would have normally left a comment. (Full disclosure: I have been a Madonna fan since I was 13 years old. Actually, like many gay men of my generation, I was a little obsessed with her.)

Instead, I was transported back to an earlier time. The year was 1983. I was a scared seventh grader starting puberty -- a time when most adolescents are confused -- and I was attending an all-Catholic school in ultra-conservative and religious San Antonio, Texas. My father was a deacon in the church, and my mother made the sign of the cross more times daily than a Real Housewife of New Jersey. Oh, and I was realizing that I'm gay, or at least that I was not like other boys.

It was a scary time for me, not only because I was realizing that I was gay in unfriendly territory, but because I had started seeing news reports of a disease that was killing gay men. The disease was called GRID, or gay-related immune deficiency. Perfect, I thought. I am gay, and I am going to die alone of a horrible disease. Irrational thoughts like these really can mess up a person for life. Believe me.

So I went through all the usual thoughts: Maybe it's a phase! Maybe I can pray it away! Maybe I will have to become a priest! Yes, that crossed my mind. And in the years to come, even suicide crossed my mind. Somehow I got through it, but it wasn't easy.The funny thing is that around the same time, when there was nobody to look up to as a gay role model, or even any real straight allies, I found someone I could relate to: a beautiful, irreverent and talented artist who sang of dancing and taking holidays, of leaving all your troubles behind, and so I did, as silly as it sounds. Madonna was my generation's beacon of hope. She befriended gays and preached tolerance when it was not the popular thing to do. She rallied to raise money and awareness for HIV/AIDS when even the president of the United States would not utter the word "AIDS" publicly.She never had to literally tell me that it was OK that I was "born this way," because I just got it by what she showed me. I must admit that I am also a fan of Lady Gaga, and I'm not one to live in the past (except for every time I go to a Madonna concert; I haven't missed a tour in 20 years), but I felt compelled to write this post because I felt that it had to be said. I felt that this was a Julia Sugarbaker moment for me, and Marjorie is all those "little monsters" who are just too young to know.

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-866-488-7386 for the Trevor Lifeline, or call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.